Abstract

The change in swim performance over time has been investigated for freestyle, but not for other strokes, such as in the medley. The aim of the study was to examine changes in 200 m and 400 m swim performances in medley swimmers at national (Switzerland) and international level (world championship finals) from 1994 to 2011. The 200 m and 400 m freestyle performances were also analyzed for comparison. Swim performances were analyzed using linear regression and one-way analysis of variance. Male Swiss swimmers improved swim speed by 5.4% in the 200 m medley, 5.3% in the 200 m freestyle, 5.1% in the 400 m medley, and 5.7% in the 400 m freestyle (P < 0.01). Female Swiss swimmers improved swim speed by 4.4% in the 200 m medley, 3.3% in the 200 m freestyle, 3.9% in the 400 m medley, and 3.4% in the 400 m freestyle (P < 0.05). Male swimmers at international level improved swim speed by 4.5% in the 200 m medley, 4.6% in the 200 m freestyle, 2.6% in the 400 m medley, and 2.7% in the 400 m freestyle (P < 0.01). Female swimmers improved swim speed by 4.3% in the 200 m medley, 3.5% in the 400 m medley, and 3.1% in the 400 m freestyle (P ≤ 0.02), but 200 m freestyle performance remained unchanged (P > 0.05). The sex difference in national swim performance remained unchanged at 10.2% ± 0.6% for the 200 m medley (P > 0.05) and increased from 8.8% to 9.8% for the 400 m medley (P < 0.05). In freestyle, it increased from 8.8% to 10.7% in the 200 m, and from 7.8% to 9.4% in the 400 m (P < 0.01). The sex difference in international athletes remained unchanged at 11.1% ± 0.9% in the 200 m medley, 10.1% ± 0.8% in the 400 m medley, 10.0% ± 1.3% in the 200 m, and 9.2% ± 0.6% in the 400 m freestyle (P > 0.05). For the 400 m medley, the sex difference was lower compared to the 200 m medley for national (9.3% ± 0.8% vs 10.2% ± 0.6%, P = 0.01) and for international (10.1% ± 0.8% vs 11.1% ± 0.9%) athletes. For the 400 m freestyle, the sex difference was lower compared to the 200 m freestyle for national (7.9% ± 0.9% vs 9.3% ± 0.8%) and international (9.2% ± 0.6% vs 10.0% ± 1.3%) athletes (P < 0.01), and lower in the freestyle than the medley for the same distances (P < 0.01). Future studies should investigate the reasons for the greater sex difference in the medley than the freestyle.

Abstract

The change in swim performance over time has been investigated for freestyle, but not for other strokes, such as in the medley. The aim of the study was to examine changes in 200 m and 400 m swim performances in medley swimmers at national (Switzerland) and international level (world championship finals) from 1994 to 2011. The 200 m and 400 m freestyle performances were also analyzed for comparison. Swim performances were analyzed using linear regression and one-way analysis of variance. Male Swiss swimmers improved swim speed by 5.4% in the 200 m medley, 5.3% in the 200 m freestyle, 5.1% in the 400 m medley, and 5.7% in the 400 m freestyle (P < 0.01). Female Swiss swimmers improved swim speed by 4.4% in the 200 m medley, 3.3% in the 200 m freestyle, 3.9% in the 400 m medley, and 3.4% in the 400 m freestyle (P < 0.05). Male swimmers at international level improved swim speed by 4.5% in the 200 m medley, 4.6% in the 200 m freestyle, 2.6% in the 400 m medley, and 2.7% in the 400 m freestyle (P < 0.01). Female swimmers improved swim speed by 4.3% in the 200 m medley, 3.5% in the 400 m medley, and 3.1% in the 400 m freestyle (P ≤ 0.02), but 200 m freestyle performance remained unchanged (P > 0.05). The sex difference in national swim performance remained unchanged at 10.2% ± 0.6% for the 200 m medley (P > 0.05) and increased from 8.8% to 9.8% for the 400 m medley (P < 0.05). In freestyle, it increased from 8.8% to 10.7% in the 200 m, and from 7.8% to 9.4% in the 400 m (P < 0.01). The sex difference in international athletes remained unchanged at 11.1% ± 0.9% in the 200 m medley, 10.1% ± 0.8% in the 400 m medley, 10.0% ± 1.3% in the 200 m, and 9.2% ± 0.6% in the 400 m freestyle (P > 0.05). For the 400 m medley, the sex difference was lower compared to the 200 m medley for national (9.3% ± 0.8% vs 10.2% ± 0.6%, P = 0.01) and for international (10.1% ± 0.8% vs 11.1% ± 0.9%) athletes. For the 400 m freestyle, the sex difference was lower compared to the 200 m freestyle for national (7.9% ± 0.9% vs 9.3% ± 0.8%) and international (9.2% ± 0.6% vs 10.0% ± 1.3%) athletes (P < 0.01), and lower in the freestyle than the medley for the same distances (P < 0.01). Future studies should investigate the reasons for the greater sex difference in the medley than the freestyle.

Download

Article Networks

TrendTerms

TrendTerms displays relevant terms of the abstract of this publication and related documents on a map. The terms and their relations were extracted from ZORA using word statistics. Their timelines are taken from ZORA as well. The bubble size of a term is proportional to the number of documents where the term occurs. Red, orange, yellow and green colors are used for terms that occur in the current document; red indicates high interlinkedness of a term with other terms, orange, yellow and green decreasing interlinkedness. Blue is used for terms that have a relation with the terms in this document, but occur in other documents.
You can navigate and zoom the map. Mouse-hovering a term displays its timeline, clicking it yields the associated documents.